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New Townshend Rock 7 owner

The Townshend is in transit to it's new home. I purchased this one-owner table as a package, complete w/ Funk Firm FXR ll arm, dc motor upgrade, Discovery Balanced phono cable and Brinkman PI cartridge. It come with all original boxes, manuals.

If all goes well, I should be able to get it up and running with one exception, my phono stage is not balanced. Since the original owner bought this from a respected dealer as a package, I think my best route would be to get a pair of RCA to XLR adapters in order to hear the package as close as possible as was intended.

Any thoughts on that aspect? What brand adapters would be recommended? Also, any thing I might need to know from experienced users to help with set-up? Thanks.
128x128slaw
nsp
653 posts
 
slaw
My rock7 is on top of the symposium Ultra platform. If you read my previous post bdp24 I explained that the top of my belt rubs slightly on the bottom of the white platter which holds the record.
I also mentioned that my motor housing which has three set screws is significantly higher then the top of the plinth and Max said in his guideline that these two should be even in heigth.
I was wondering if the top of your motor housing is level with the top of your plinth?
Also the belt position on my motor housing rides quite low which is another reason I believe the motor housing should be lowered on my system.
The three set screws on the motor housing seem to be a hexagonal configuration. Do you know the correct tool that fits the screw holes?
I have to screwdrivers that came with unit but I think they are for adjusting the angle of the motor .
 
Just wanted to let you know that I appreciate any help that you and bdp 24 or anyone else can give me as I plan to become more Hands-On and knowledgeable with this setup as I used to be with previous turntables and tone arms that I owned.
nsp
653 posts
 
slaw
I am going to read your previous post and try to absorb what you have mentioned. One thing you did say is your belt on the pulley is riding a little bit above Center whereas I I said my belt on the motor housing pulley is riding at the bottom.  
slaw's avatar
slaw OP
21,058 posts
 
@nsp  & @bdp24,
I must be old school.....I always refer to plinth as any material the tt bearing is attached to. In the Rock 7's case it is the thick piece of metal.
@nsp ,,
(BTW, my Rock 7 is on an Ultra as well right now. It isn't perfectly flat).
Regarding how our belts are riding on our pulleys....the difference is,  my motor housing height is about as low as one can get it whereas I believe yours is way too high. The belt should never hit the white platter. Actually, it's common for, in a correct set-up, for the belt to slide down to the (plinth) when the motor is cut off. (This is dependent on the pulley distance or belt tension.) Upon turning the motor back on, you can watch the belt ride back up on the pulley. It's kind a fascinating actually. This is because of the conical shape of the pulley.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,717 posts
 

@slaw, I too would have to be considered old school (as well as somewhat old ;-), and our definitions of plinth are the same (see my post above): it is the "body" of the turntable (in a suspended sub-chassis table like the VPI HW-19, the Linn Sondek, the Oracles, AR’s, etc., the floating sub-chassis) that the platter’s bearing and (usually) the tonearm are mounted onto that I call the plinth. On a non-suspended table (the VPI Aries, the Regas), the plinth is usually one solid piece of either most often either MDF or acrylic, again onto which the platter bearing and arm are mounted.

On the Rock Elite, the motor is also mounted directly onto the plinth, same as the Regas. Whereas the Rega plinths are just a slab of MDF, the Elite’s is a shallow upside-down metal pan filled with damping pads and Plaster-of-Paris---very inert (non-resonant) and high mass. The motor height is not adjustable, nor does it need to be; both it’s and the sub-platter’s (the metal part that is attached to the bearing spindle, and upon which sits the 12" platter) height have been engineered so as to situate the belt in the center of the sub-platter, no adjustment necessary.

@nsp, the loading of the Londons (and older Deccas) is a matter of some opinion. The instruction manuals of some models recommend 47k, others 22k. The older Deccas were much more variable than are the current Londons, so no one figure was universal. Harvey Rosenberg (of New York Audio Labs fame, known for his love and knowledge of Deccas) told me he preferred 10k with his Deccas (this was back in the 1980’s). Zesto Audio provides a 15k setting on the MM input of their phono stage, specifically for Decca/Londons. The loading resistors in any phono stage can be easily changed by a technician; it takes only a few minutes. If you want to give a London a try, I recommend getting one with the optional Decapod mount; it provides a much firmer mechanical mating to the tonearm, and makes the cartridge body less resonant, less microphonic. The London Super Gold retails for around $1500, and may be the one to try first. The Reference is around $5300, a lot of $ to take a gamble on!

nsp
653 posts
 
slawI have to agree that the Symposium Ultra platform is not exactly flat all the way around. The Rock seven is the second TT that I've used the Symposium with and it's such a good upgrade  it's well worth it.Regarding the three feet of the base of the rock 7 the screws ARE above the level of the feets top surface right now.I'm not sure if the feet are screwed all the way in at this position. If I could screw the feet in More this should change  the level of the plinth by raising it(correct?) I might solve my problem by aligning the motor housing  to the top of the plinth.  the feet position could be changed with an allen key I believe.
Do you know the correct size and Tool type for the three screws to adjust the motor height?Max lifted 3 hex keys on his inventory sheet they came with the table of 2, 5, and 6 mm. I have only two screwdriver pieces the came with my unit the do not fit those screws on the motor housing.I remember the dealer who set up the table using a t screwdriver but I don't recall the size.Based on your response I could decide which way to go first with the  the leveling of the motor  to the plinth.
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